Lyubov Dreskova: Questions & Answers

1) Please introduce yourself? Who is Ljubov Dreskova?
I am a figure competitor, a model, a housewife and I am an art major in sculpture. How’s that for a start? Oh, and I do custom airbrush work and design clothes. I enjoy bike riding, yoga, running and of course training.

2) Please tell us a bit about where you grew up, your friends, family?
I grew up in UFA, a fairly large city in central Russia, where I started training, competing and eventually working as a personal trainer. Later, after meeting my husband, I moved to Moscow where we currently reside.

3) How did you find yourself working out and competing in figure?
Well, my initial drive to start working out actually came from my interest in art and to be more specific the work of Boris Vallejo. I’d probably have to mention that I was 14 or so when I began training and began competing within 2 years of getting into the gym. Over the years I have competed in various organizations and have actually done quite well. In a search for tougher competition, clear rules and a generally more professional approach I came to compete in IFBB Figure – so far, so good.

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4) What are your feelings towards the current judging criteria in IFBB?
The current standards seem to be going in the right direction with less emphasis on muscularity and extreme conditioning in favor of a more natural female physique. This, I feel, is good for the sport in general, both the athletes and to gain audience appeal.

5) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique wise andor in conditioning?
Work as hard as I can to bring my best, that’s all.

6) What is your typical training routine in the gym? Any changes before a show?
Well, for starters, I enjoy training, so I work out everyday even in the offseason hitting every bodypart twice a week. Cardio is around 30 minutes per day going up two hours done in two session closer to contest time. The actual training split doesn’t change much precontest but is also split into two sessions per day with more emphasis on detail work and abs. I also have 4-5 yoga workouts throughout the week.

7) Can you give me your competition history?
Bodyfitness IFBB +168 sm. 2010 second place at the Russian National Championship. 2010 fourth place at the World Championship (MEXICO).

8) What does your diet look like?
Precontest is mostly eggs and chicken breasts with oatmeal in the am for carbs. In the offseason I tend to add more fruit and an occasional day of eating sushi or something fun. My diet generally doesn’t change much from pre-contest too offseason as I like to stay close to contest condition year round.

9) Please tell us an interesting experience you had at a show recently, be it a fun thing or not so fun?
Being that one of my last shows were the Women’s IFBB Amateur World Championships in Mexico there were a great deal experiences related to that. The over 24 hour transit time including a 12 hour strike related wait in Madrid while waiting for a connecting flight to Mexico City would be one of the not-so-fun aspects. But spending almost two weeks in Cancun with my husband right after the show more than made up for that.

10) What do you think of the bikini division?
It’s a great addition to the show, I like it!